10-year-old Girl Defeats Chess Grandmaster After Playing ‘Near-Perfect Game’
Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old British chess prodigy has achieved a new feat by defeating world champion Mariya Muzychuk.
This means she’s one step closer to becoming the youngest grandmaster.
Bodhana Sivanandan, who is from Harrow in northwest London, defeated Muzychuk in what experts called a “near perfect game.”
Sivanandan secured her victory on Oct. 19, 2025, at the European Chess Club Cup hosted in Rhodes, Greece.
After taking up chess during the COVID-19 when a family member gifted her an old chess board, she became the youngest female player in history to beat a grandmaster, and she did it while sitting on a booster seat to reach the board, according to The Times.
In 2024, Sivanandan became the youngest person ever to represent England internationally in any sport.
The title of grandmaster is the highest title that can be earned in professional chess.
Muzychuk, 33, who is from Ukraine, has won her country’s national championships twice, and in 2015, she became the women’s world chess champion.
David Howell, England’s number one grandmaster and The Times chess columnist, called Sivanandan’s victory an “incredible win.”
“It’s not every day a ten-year-old defeats a grandmaster and former world champion in such style,” Howell added.
“I’m happy to win but hopefully I do even better in the future games … This will inspire me to keep doing better and trying harder to win more games,” Sivanandan told The Times.
Sivanandan added that the high-pressure environment of a major tournament does not affect her game strategy, saying, “I don’t really mind where I am playing, I just try and focus on my game.”
The victory comes after another major win or Sivanandan in August.
“British sensation Bodhana Sivanandan has made history by becoming the youngest female chess player ever to beat a grandmaster,” the International Chess Federation wrote in an Aug. 11 social media post.
“Sivanandan’s victory at 10 years, five months and three days beats the 2019 record held by American Carissa Yip (10 years, 11 months and 20 days).”
The current youngest grandmaster is American chess player Abhimanyu Mishra. In 2021, he achieved the title at 12 years, four months and 25 days old.